


Ties That Bind

by DittyWrites



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Bonding, Canon-Typical Violence, Demon Summoning, Fix-It, Gen, Humor, Post-Canon Fix-It, Reunions, Snark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26683954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DittyWrites/pseuds/DittyWrites
Summary: A quick fix-it fic because I was ridiculously sad with the ending that Griffon and Shadow received and I want Vergil to be able to keep his favourite familiars.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 70





	Ties That Bind

**Author's Note:**

> I was hoping to get some Gotham Rogues drabbles out this weekend but lo and behold, Capcom grabbed me by the balls with all their Special Edition Vergil stuff so here we go lmao.
> 
> Comments appreciated as always xx

A lifetime spent either on the offensive or in hiding from powers even more dangerous than himself had left Vergil with one invaluable rule; his instincts were always to be trusted. A rule which was currently placing him on high alert as a sense of danger pressed against his consciousness and forced him to place his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.

“You okay there, Verge?” Noticing the change in atmosphere, Dante eyed his twin with an easy gaze as he pulled his feet from the table and sat up to pay attention.

They were alone in the building as Lady and Trish were off working a job on their own and Nero was spending the weekend with Kyrie and the kids. The peace was nice, but both were itching for a fresh job to appear; that or there was a high chance that they would travel downwards and blow some steam off in one of the more populated areas of hell.

“Something is wrong.” Vergil answered, his trained eyes sweeping the room for any source of danger. “Can you feel that?”

“Nope.” Dante ran a hand through his hair, disturbing the mop of white as he strained both his human and demonic senses, “I’m not feeling anything, demon or otherwise. What do you think it is?”

Taking a deep breath as he focused his concentration, Vergil closed his eyes to pinpoint the feeling.

“It’s pain and panic,” his brow furrowed slightly as something odd came to light, “but it’s not here.”

“Not here? What do you me-“

“It’s in hell. Something is connected to me, calling to me.”

“What the hell could be wanti-“

“I don’t know,” Vergil cut him off again, rising from his seated position, “but I am going to find out.”

Drawing the yamato from its sheathe, two quick swipes were enough to open a portal, his instincts telling him that it would lead him straight to the source of the unwelcome feelings. Ready to leave, the pulsating energy within the portal enticed him forward, but his steps were halted by a sudden voice.

“I’ll join you.”

Turning to survey the eager grin on Dante’s expression, Vergil quirked a brow at him.

“I can handle this myself.”

“Whatever you say,” Dante answered with an obvious eyeroll as he strapped his devil sword to his back, ebony and ivory clearly holstered at his hips, “but I’m not coming to help your sorry ass, I’m coming because i’m bored.”

Vergil couldn’t argue with that.

“Fair.”

Stepping through the familiar energy of the portal, the first thing to grab Vergil’s attention was the heat- a natural product of the hellscape which manifested as an intense humidity- and the second was the utter chaos of the scene before him.

Around twenty lesser demons, their expressions twisted with fury and malice, were working in conjunction to attack something but through the mass of bodies and flurry of movement, neither Dante nor Vergil were able to make out exactly what.

“Let’s go!” Dante grinned, exclaiming loudly enough to grab the attention of the two demons closest to their position. Turning, they immediately went on the offensive as they swung the thin scythes which were gripped within their hands and Vergil took a stance as he allowed Dante to begin the slaughter.

It was hardly a battle; between his own precisely deadly style and the chaos of Dante’s attack the demons stood no chance, falling like dominoes before their combined wrath. Small bursts of electricity decorated the area as whatever had summoned Vergil continued its own battle on the other side of the demon hoard.

Demon after demon fell to his blade as he barely broke a sweat and it wasn’t until he felled a chainsaw-wielding beast that he caught his first glimpse of the source of his internal panic and the sight was enough to make him still for a moment.

There, against the flat of the ground, lay Shadow and the broken hilt of a scythe was visibly pierced through the side of the big cat. His demonic body harmed, he swiped and hissed at any demon who approached as he attempted to heal against the damage. The bolts of electricity they could see were from Griffon, his last line of defence, and were helping to keep the lesser demons at bay as the power singed and burned their skin.

Shaking himself back to action, he continued to pick off the demons in the area as he coordinated his attack with Dante, settling into their familiar pattern of assault until a summoned sword pierced the heart of the final demon; banishing it to the void.

“Hey!” Dante called out, finally spotting the two familiars. “It’s those guys!”

Pacing towards the pair of demons, Dante had barely a moment to dodge as Shadow swiped at his ankles; a weak hiss emitting from the panther’s chest as he registered the demonic presence.

“Woah, kitty,” Dante muttered, “these boots are new. Relax.”

“If it isn’t the Sparda twins,” Griffon spat over his shoulder, landing on the ground before Shadow and using his claws to pull free the hilt of the scythe, “ho-”

His words were cut off by a surprisingly loud growl as the open wound on Shadow’s chest sealed itself up and his body reverted to a rotating ball as his demonic core exposed itself to allow him to heal.

Eyeing the ball with a stoic expression, Vergil allowed Dante to ask the questions he knew they both had.

“What’s the deal, little chicken?” Dante asked, having not had the opportunity to use the amusing nickname for so long. “Why are these demons attacking their own? Don’t you have a union for this kind of thing?”

“Because of him!” Griffon flared his wings in irritation as his beady eyes fell on Vergil. “They know that we worked with V to help destroy the Quiphoth and they don’t care that we were his summons.” Extending his claws, Griffon flexed the razor-sharp edges and looked ready to make a move against Vergil. However- before he could make a move- Shadow reverted to his regular appearance, having fully healed, and the sight seemed to relax the demonic bird. “It’s open season on Shadow and me and we’ve been on the run since you,” his eyes darted back to Dante, “banished us back down here.”

A small tendril of guilt stroked at Vergil’s conscious as Griffon made his admission. His memories from his time split between V and Urizen were fractured at best but there was a warmth there for his familiars. Many nights had seen Shadow using his chest as a pillow as he rested while Griffon perched close by, both demons prepared to defend their master to the death as he fought to restore himself.

In the moments of silence, when reflection was at its peak, Vergil found that he did miss them.

“Sucks to be you, buddy.” Dante shrugged, leaning on his hilt of his sword as Shadow padded gently around the twins, his step limping slightly as he continued to recover. “Demons can’t live topside without help, you know that.”

“Yeah, we know, we already tried that, dipshit.”

“Hey, no need for insults.”

“You try being hunted down for weeks and see how you feel.”

As Griffon and Dante continued to bicker, Vergil instead focused his attention on Shadow. The big cat was watching him with a passive gaze, his wide dark eyes blinking slowly as he held Vergil’s gaze with an almost fond familiarity.

It was not until he realised that he was rubbing the tips of his fingers together gently that Vergil realised he was resisting the urge to reach out and stroke the panther. Dropping the pretence, he extended his had slightly, enough that if Shadow wished to reject him that the decision would go unnoticed by Dante and Griffon.

Shadow took a steady step forward and willingly dipped his head against Vergil’s hand, the actions sparking a slideshow of recollections within Vergil’s mind of the ease with which V showed affection to the large familiar. Following the curve of Shadow’s head, Vergil settled his hand across the back of his neck, rubbing the fur there almost absent-mindedly as he felt the demonic energy crackle against his fingertips.

“-and we are FUCKED!”

The loud voice of Griffon cut across his musings and Vergil once again focussed on the discussion between his twin and the demon bird.

“Can’t you go find another person to leech on to?” Dante asked, leaning on his hilt of his sword as he offered the solution.

“We were reborn and moulded from Vergil’s nightm- I mean V’s memories,” Griffon caught himself quickly but the near mention of his experiences was enough to make Vergil twitch slightly, “and we can’t be bound to anyone else.”

“Is that why you were able to call me here?” It was a question, but Vergil already knew the answer.

“Yeah. V bonded with us and that bond was never truly severed by him before he reformed. It’s why we’re still kicking even after Dante banished us here.”

Dante shrugged off the accusation.

“I play hard, little chicken.” He turned to face Vergil, “Hey, Verge, you want to bring these pets home? They did try to kill me but that just puts them on the same level as everyone else at work.”

Put on the backfoot by the sudden choice, Vergil peered hard at the pair of familiars. Griffon held his head high, ready for the rejection which he suspected was coming, while Shadow stood passively, his large and intelligent eyes flicking between both Dante and Vergil as he also awaited an answer.

As a human, he had formed a bond with these creatures, a companionship which he had rarely experienced across his life. As a demon, he had fought aside them, all agents of Mundus and forced to do his bidding.

They were powerful familiars; able to kill their own with ease and skilled enough to keep himself alive when he was little more than a decaying form. Loyal to him alone, they had been formed of his nightmares but soon worked to keep those nightmares at bay as they protected him.

At the very least, they had earned the right to live.

“If I recognise the bond then you are bound to me forever,” Vergil spoke quietly, “you know the process is irreversible. You should not have even survived the first separation.” His eyes landed on Shadow and he awaited a response.

Shadow gave another slow blink, showing his understanding of the statement and what it meant.

“And you?”

Griffon extended his wings.

“Better alive and bonded, than dead and hunted.”

“Can we get this show on the road?” Cutting into the discussion, Dante checked an imaginary watch as he glanced at and tapped his wrist. “These soppy reconciliations are too much for me.”

Despite the teasing tone, Vergil understood that Dante was trying to help. Emotional displays were not something either twin particularly enjoyed.

Placing a hand on Shadow’s head and the familiar weight of Griffon settled on his extended forearm, Vergil tugged on the residual feelings which had brought him to this area in the first place. Now understanding what it was, it was easy to find the thin tendrils of the bond which only loosely tied the two demons to his energy.

Summoning energy from within his demonic core, Vergil passed some of the energy into the tendrils strengthening them as he focused on the sensation of his connection to both familiars. The hair on his arms raised and a tingle danced along his skin for a moment as the magical contract formed around their forms and was sealed.

The two demons were now bound to him as familiars until his death; at which point their demonic energy would extinguish and they would perish at his side. As long as he drew breath, his familiars would exist across both the underworld and above.

“Well,” Dante muttered, “that wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. I was expecting fireworks.” Groaning as he extended his arms into a lazy stretch, his deceptively smart gaze landed on Vergil, “How’s it feel?”

Tilting his head as he smoothed out his coat, Vergil took stock of his mental state. It had been a while since he had to use his demonic energy for anything other than his devil trigger so it was interesting to have the sensation of electricity dancing through his nerves without the accompanying transformation. His senses were balanced and he could feel both Shadow and Griffon, almost like shades within his mind, and he was able to feel that not only were both in his immediate area but that they were also in good health.

It was strange, but it was not a negative feeling and he lowered his arm to allow Griffon to fly off.

“Acceptable.”

“Well, that was fun!” Griffon called out, swooping overhead, “Gotta say, I though Shadow and I were screwed there, V.”

Vergil bit back a small smirk.

V.

He was not V anymore.

Nor was he the demon king Urizen.

But as he stroked a hand along the ridges of Shadow’s spine and admired the surprisingly soft fur of the demon familiar, Vergil found that he did not have the energy to correct Griffon.

Not that the bird would ever listen to him.


End file.
